e·col·o·gy

(ĭ-kŏl′ə-jē)

1. The scientific study of the relationships between living things and their environments.

2. A system of such relationships: the fragile ecology of the desert.

ecology, oecology

1. the branch of biology that studies the relations between plants and animals and their environment. Also called bionomics, bionomy.2. the branch of sociology that studies the environmental spacing and interdependence of people and institutions, as in rural or in urban settings. — ecologist, oecologist,n. — ecological, oecological,adj. — ecologically, oecologically,adv.

1. the branch of biology that studies the relationship of organisms and environments. Also called bionomics, bionomy.2. the branch of sociology that studies the environmental spacing and interdependence of people and their institutions, as in rural or urban settings. — ecologist, oecologist, n. — ecologie, oecologic, ecological, oecological, adj.

biotic community, community - (ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other

association - (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species

food chain - (ecology) a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member

food pyramid - (ecology) a hierarchy of food chains with the principal predator at the top; each level preys on the level below

food cycle, food web - (ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains

ecesis, establishment - (ecology) the process by which a plant or animal becomes established in a new habitat

ecological succession, succession - (ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established

ecological niche, niche - (ecology) the status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species)

The 22nd International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology (SHE), held from November 28 to December 1, had the theme 'Envisioning pathways to just and sustainable futures: Celebrating diversity, pursuing integration, and developing livable communities.

First published in 2004 and currently revised into a second edition as of 2011, it remains one of the few notable textbooks that try to address the burgeoning field of political ecology as a whole discipline, with content ranging from the introduction of core concepts and central thinkers to the major works in political ecology and the arguments and challenges that it yet faces as a developing field of research and study.

The publication of books like Silent Spring in 1962, the creation of government agencies focused on protecting and regulating air, land, and water quality in the 1970s, and the realization of the environmental impact of a growing human population increased the emphasis on environmental science as a discipline separate from ecology.

In his excellent historical review of the development of ecology, Robert McIntosh (1985) noted that the polymorphic nature of ecology as a science contributes to diverse and even contradictory opinions about the origins of ecology.

Industrial Ecology is a relatively new and prescriptive field of study which seeks to transform the current industrial system by placing it within, and modeling it after, natural systems (Jelinski et al 1992; Lifset 1997; Gallopoulos 2006).

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